The Mozilla Foundation is planning to end support for the Firefox 2 browser in mid-December, despite the persistence of significant flaws in the most-recent version of the popular browser.
The 'end of life' (EOL) plan for Firefox 2 is part of Mozilla's policy of ending support for previous versions of a product six months after a new version's release. It is designed to allow Mozilla developers to focus their efforts on the current browser version, Firefox 3, released in mid-May.
For users, the policy means an end to security and stability updates for the existing versions, as well as an end to releases of new features.
Support will also cease for the Gecko 1.8 layout engine that underlies both Firefox 2 and the Thunderbird 2 email client. The move will affect a range of third-party Gecko-based browsers, such as SeaMonkey, the Mac-only Camino and the Unix/Linux browser Galeon.
Mozilla confirmed the move on the web page devoted to older versions of its software, stating: "Firefox 2.0.0.x will be maintained with security and stability updates until mid-December, 2008. All users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to Firefox 3."
Mozilla is pressing on with the transition despite criticisms of Firefox 3 from some quarters, including some organizations that have found the newer browser unusable due to particular bugs. Some users have noted that Firefox 3 appears to be more prone to crashing than the older browser, and has problems with using too much memory. The browser's new location bar has also come in for criticism. Earlier this month, a system administrator for the University of Bergen commented that a bug related to the use of network drives had meant the organization could not install Firefox 3.
Firefox 2 is still receiving significant numbers of bug-fixes in new releases. Last week, Mozilla released Firefox 2.0.0.18 and Firefox 3.0.4, addressing a dozen security flaws, half of which were ranked as critical. Mozilla's current plan is to release only one more update to Firefox 2, version 2.0.0.19.
Mozilla assured developers that support would continue for Thunderbird 2 past December, despite the fact that it is based on the now-outmoded Gecko 1.8 engine.
"Mozilla (in some form) will provide support for Thunderbird based on the official lifecycle policy," said Mozilla's Michael Connor in a recent message to the Mozilla planning mailing list.
The support situation for third-party browsers based on Gecko 1.8 is more ambiguous, according to Firefox director Mike Beltzner. While he acknowledged that Mozilla developers' focus would no longer be on Gecko 1.8, he said third-party developers would still be free to maintain the software and fix bugs.
"EOL doesn't mean 'everyone stop coding and doing reviews', more that 'we don't have a team doing weekly triage on blockers and milestone releases'," Beltzner wrote in a recent Mozilla mailing list post.
In October, Beltzner said two-thirds of Firefox users were already using version 3. Mozilla set a world’s record for its more than eight million downloads of Firefox 3 in June.

Malaysia said Wednesday that Barack Obama's victory could mean less use of American force in solving world conflicts, and more respect for smaller nations.

"Malaysia... hopes Obama's government will be more sensitive to the sovereignty of smaller nations and will not use force in resolving global conflicts," Foreign Minister Rais Yatim said in a statement.

"Obama's victory is seen as bringing change and hope to the world," he added.

"Malaysia welcomes him as the new light in the struggle for democracy. As America's first black president his victory has shown that Americans can accept a leader regardless of colour, religion or beliefs."

Rais said that Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation, hoped the new administration would also pay greater attention to developing countries as well as to humanitarian and developmental issues.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, a former deputy premier who was strongly backed by the United States after being sacked and jailed in 1998, said Obama would boost prospects for engagement between the US and Muslim countries.

"Some of the most contentious issues of our time, including the ongoing conflicts and confrontations in the Middle East, require a commitment to diplomacy, a willingness to engage in a meaningful dialogue and a departure from the aggressive unilateralism witnessed in recent years," he said.

"In this we anticipate that president-elect Obama will show leadership where previous administrations have failed."

Malaysia has been a long-term critic of the US intervention in Iraq, with former premier Mahathir Mohamad branding incumbent US President George Bush a "war criminal".